Woman with 300+ rats being evicted

Published: Feb. 7, 2013 at 4:27 PM

PLOVER, Wis., Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Authorities in Wisconsin said a woman found to be living with more than 300 rats running loose in her trailer home is being evicted.

The Portage County Sheriff's Department said Darlene Flatoff will be evicted from her Birch Tree Estates home in Plover within the next 10 days after health officials discovered the woman has been keeping more than 300 rats loose in her home since March of last year and possibly longer, the Wausau Daily Herald reported Thursday.

Officials said the rodents and their droppings are posing a health risk. They said Flatoff bought her first rats from pet stores and they eventually reproduced with wild rats.

"The health department is looking for me to meet with them in person along with the exterminator," Birch Tree Estates owner Luke Hilgers said. "Just to make sure that the exterminator's plan to address the issue will satisfy their expectations."

Officials said the eviction was planned after Flatoff failed to abide by an order to rid her home of rats by Jan. 17.